Dr. Krishanthi Rondon Fuentes, a former senior staff member of UNESCO and UNICEF, recently launched seven children’s books in the Inca Cat Detective Series at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Centre. The books have been translated into Sinhala, French, Spanish, German and Chinese with the Russian and Tamil language versions to be released soon. With the launch of her children’s books, she hopes to encourage children to love and respect animals and understand different cultures and visit various destinations through a fun read as each book is based in a new country. The books were published by Sarasavi Publishers.
Just prior to her launch in Sri Lanka, Dr Fuentes was honoured by the Top Shelf magazine who have named her as a finalist in this year’s book awards. The books have already received various awards in the USA and UK.
Dr Fuentes who writes under the pen name R.F. Kristi commenced writing children’s books in 2016. “Even as a child, my favourite pastime was reading. In addition, animals have always been a part of my life. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t own a cat or a dog. While working for UNESCO Paris, I had the urge to write for children, mainly to encourage them to appreciate animals and to consider animals as living breathing beings with thoughts and feelings. I also learned about the benefits reaped by children growing up with animals. So, what better way to encourage children to love and appreciate animals than by reading adventure stories about animals”.
The launch saw a distinguished gathering in attendance. Former Principal of Ladies’ College, Nirmalie Wickramasinghe was the Chief Guest, while Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to the UK Manisha Gunasekara, the Deputy Ambassador of the Italian Embassy in Sri Lanka Allegra Baistrocchi and the owner of Sarasavi Publishers HD Premasiri were also present.
Amithi Alles Moragoda, Editor of the books gave a short introduction, while Dilmani Warnasuriya, also an Editor of the books, gave an introduction of the author. Excerpts from these delightful books were read in English by Sahani Chandraratne, Annika and Mahela Silva, Ariana Alles and Yenal Fernando and the Sinhala excerpts were read by Indi Hewage and Nilasha Fernando. This delightful evening concluded with refreshments and the signing of books by the author.
The proceeds from the sale of the books will go entirely for animal welfare. “I believe Sri Lanka, like many other countries, both developed and developing need to protect and care for its animal population. Since returning to Sri Lanka, I realized that there’s a greater need for not only educating people about animal welfare but also supporting whenever possible street animals in need of care,” Dr Fuentes said.
Dr Fuentes hopes to continue the Inca Cat Detective series. Each book in the series focuses on a different geographical location and a different culture with the aim of broadening the horizons of children. “So far, the books have been based in Paris, London, Provence, Transylvania, Sri Lanka and in North and South Korea. Hopefully, the next will be based in Moscow and Saint Petersburg”.